Gold and silver futures settled slightly lower Thursday. In doing so, gold snapped a four-session winning streak and silver dipped from a more than 11-month high.
Gold for June delivery lost $4.10, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,250.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Gold and silver prices are pulling back due to some profit-taking, as traders are not sure what to expect from future monetary policy," MarketWatch quoted Nico Pantelis, head of research at Secular Investor.
Gold prices ranged from a low of $1,244.40 to a high of $1,272.40. They have gained 1.3% so far this week.
Silver for May delivery shed 4.5 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $17.09 an ounce. Silver prices traded between $16.75 and $17.72. In the previous session, they closed at their highest level since May 18. They are 4.8% higher on the week.
In other precious metals futures on Thursday:
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July platinum added $3.80, or 0.4%, to $1,031.90 an ounce, ranging from $1,016.50 to $1,046.30.
- Palladium for June delivery advanced $13, or 2.2%, to $610.05 an ounce, trading between $591.90 and $617.85.
London Precious Metals Prices
In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:
- Gold declined $2.75, or 0.2%, to $1,249.25 an ounce.
- Silver added 35 cents, or 2.1%, to $17.32 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016
In a rarity, nearly every U.S. Mint bullion product advanced on Thursday. Overall gains included 18,500 ounces in gold coins and 212,500 ounces in silver coins.
The U.S. Mint this week allocated sales of American Silver Eagles to 1 million coins. Distributors order 91.3% through Thursday. 2016 Silver Eagles are at a record sales pace of 17,912,500 coins — 28.2% higher than the same time in record year 2015.
Below is a sales breakdown of United States Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods of time.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday Sales | Last Week | This Week | Mar Sales | Apr Sales | 2016 Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins | 15,000 | 29,500 | 30,000 | 29,000 | 78,000 | 263,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 5,000 | 35,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins | 4,000 | 6,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 12,000 | 64,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 75,000 | 40,000 | 360,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 1,000 | 6,000 | 3,000 | 7,000 | 15,000 | 75,000 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins | 157,500 | 1,036,000 | 912,500 | 4,106,000 | 3,070,000 | 17,912,500 |
| 2016 Shawnee 5 Oz Silver Coins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 105,000 |
| 2016 Cumberland Gap 5 Oz Silver Coins | 11,000 | 0 | 64,000 | 0 | 64,000 | 64,000 |
